38-year-old man from Namur convicted of possessing 75,263 child sexual abuse material files
Geoffrey, a 38-year-old from Namur, has been sentenced by the Liège court of appeal to two years in prison with probationary suspension for downloading 75,263 child sexual abuse material files between 2022 and 2024. He admitted to his addiction and expressed his shame.
38-year-old man from Namur convicted of possessing 75,263 child sexual abuse material files
A man in his thirties living in Namur was sentenced to two years imprisonment with a five-year probationary suspension by the Liège court of appeal. Between 2022 and 2024, he accumulated more than 75,000 images and videos of a child sexual abuse nature on his digital devices.
Investigators were able to trace him through his IP address, following alerts concerning the distribution of illegal content. A search confirmed the scale of his collection. The man was placed under arrest warrant for nearly three months.
During his trial at first instance in Dinant, he had attempted to explain his conduct by mentioning a recent break-up with an Asian partner. The Namur prosecutor's office had sought three years in prison, but the court was more lenient. The prosecutor's office then appealed.
Before the magistrates of the higher court, the defendant described an addictive spiral. He was initially searching for images of Asian adolescents and had to download massively to find this type of content. "It had become a habit, like watching videos online," he stated, according to La DH (dhnet.be).
He claimed to have attempted several times to stop this activity, sometimes deleting files without viewing them and refraining for several days before relapsing.
"I am ashamed, it is inadmissible," he stated. "You believe you are safe behind a screen. I am even glad I was arrested. Behind these images, there are children who are being abducted."
The presiding judge countered that his consumption directly fuelled these criminal networks. "Without demand, there would be far fewer children raped," she emphasised.
Since his arrest, he claims not to have touched any electronic device.
The court ultimately confirmed a sentence of two years with a five-year probationary suspension and a fine of €4,000.
Source: DHnet